Keeping an Eye Out
by Dobby's Socks
Summary: In which the Doctor must defend his newly reconciled in-laws from the advances of a certain immortal Time Agent. Follows on from my AU series of Jack and Eleven oneshots starting with "Don't Stop at Hello", set post-"Asylum of the Daleks", Amy/Rory, mentioned Doctor/River, and plenty of Jack flirting, rated for alcohol use, sequel posted called "Common Faults"


**Ok so I have another sadder (sorry) oneshot planned for after this, but after reading through the previous three this idea came to me, and I thought you guys might like to read it. So enjoy!**

**Dobby's Polka-Dotted Sock**

**Keeping an Eye Out**

There was a new addition to the usual crowd and Jack, as always, was intrigued. She sat at the opposite end of the bar from him, staring into her drink with shoulders hunched and face downcast. But still plenty beautiful. Long red hair and pale cheeks, and leg and leg and leg. He was amazed someone had found enough jeans for those legs.

It was a shame that such a face appeared so glum. It was a face worthy of a magazine cover—which wouldn't be a bad line, incidentally. He was sure all she needed was a little cheering up, and nobody accomplished that quite like Jack. Resolved, he grabbed up his drink and half-rose from the barstool.

"Not a move, Harkness."

"Ahh!" Startled at the unexpected but familiar voice, Jack jumped and fell back heavily on to the stool, turning away from the redhead to the previously unoccupied stool to his left.

"Not so loud, Jack," the Doctor scolded in an undertone, for some reason glancing anxiously in the direction of the current object of Jack's admiration. When he glanced behind him, it appeared that Legs hadn't noticed as she took another swig of her drink.

"Doc, what- what are you doing here?" He finally managed to say, a bit torn. Yes, he was glad to once again see his friend, gladder too that this occurred again and again, but something told him he would not be getting to spend any time with that unbelievably attractive redhead.

"Keeping an eye out, and with good reason it would appear," his friend answered, shooting him a dirty look. "That's a married woman, Captain."

"I saw no ring," he defended matter-of-factly, and the Time Lord grimaced.

"Yes, well, a married woman with relationship issues at the moment, but still—"

"How do you even know any of this? Who is she?" He pressed, knowing it wasn't the Doctor's habit to keep tabs on the marital status of random humans. Even if the alien seemed to be on a one-man crusade against Jack getting anything more than a flirty smile in his presence. Hypocrite.

"That, Jack, is Amy."

"Amy? Amy Pond?" He repeated in realization, looking back over his shoulder again with interest. Boy did the Doctor know how to pick companions.

"Yes, and officially Pond very soon. Rory is going to visit her at work tomorrow with the divorce papers," his friend informed him seriously.

"Oh," he winced in sympathy. "Sorry to hear about that. But, if you know that's going to happen, why not do something about it? Or, I don't know, go talk to her?" Now that he knew who this woman was, it seemed odd that the Time Lord wanted to stay hidden from her.

"I already did do something about it, or will do from your perspective. And that's why Amy can't know I'm here, this is technically my past," he explained.

"Do you just mix up your own timeline for fun now?" He asked, arching an eyebrow, and his friend wilted a little under his stern gaze.

"Not exactly. I just- look, you don't realize, but Amy _loves_ Rory. The whole reason they even decide to divorce is because she thinks she's not good even for him—which isn't true and Rory doesn't think that, but there's Pond for you. The papers don't even go through, since we all got abducted by Daleks before they could be submitted—"

"Abducted by Daleks!" It was through sheer will alone that he managed to keep it more of a harsh whisper than a shout.

"—and now they're back to married, living together, same old Ponds," the Doctor finished as though Jack hadn't even interrupted, a fond smile to his face now.

"Don't you mean- er, what's Rory's last name?"

"Williams, but that's not how it works," the alien waved a dismissive hand. "Point is, much as it pains me to see her upset, Jack, I have to let events play out." Jack followed his gaze back to Amy Pond, who appeared to be paying for her drink. Wiping at her eyes with a napkin, the woman stood and left the bar with not even a glance in their direction. "Oh, Amy," the Doctor sighed.

Jack patted him on the back. "Hey, you just said it all works out," he consoled, "and if she really does love Rory, you shouldn't have to be worried about someone like me approaching her."

"Jack, she's in an emotional state," his friend countered disapprovingly. His expression turned more chagrined as he admitted, "And Amy's a terrible flirt."

"Like me and River," he added for the Time Lord. "Is that where your wife gets it from?" It was incredibly fun to have this sort of knowledge about the legendary man's personal life. "Wait, hang on, did your mother-in-law just walk out of this bar and I didn't even get to say hello?"

"Yes and yes," the Doctor answered. "I'm afraid that's just how it has to be, Jack, after all—" His friend kept talking, but Jack was hardly paying attention, for his eyes were drawn to the bar's side entrance door. It was used mostly by employees taking out the rubbish or patrons looking to conduct various indecent activities, but at the moment a puzzled _very_ familiar redhead was framed in the doorway, glancing about the bar in confusion. She also appeared to be in a nightie and bathrobe.

"I mean, Rory's got a real mean right hook, Jack, so I'm really just helping you—"

"Er, Doc?" Jack finally cut his rambling friend off.

The alien blinked. "Yes?" Wordlessly, he pointed over his friend's shoulder, and the Doctor turned to see who he was indicating. "Oh, _Amy_," he sighed again, but it was considerably more frustrated.

The redhead spotted them, or rather the Doctor, as the Time Lord stood. She half-turned into the alley for reason, calling, "Rory, he's in here!" Then she shuffled over in slippers, garnering a few odd looks. "Raggedy Man, what are we doing in a bar?"

Jack was a bit confused by this moniker; though out of the tux from last time, the Doctor was back to that adorable college professor look with a tweed jacket and bowtie. Nevertheless, the alien addressed her, "Just a quick stop, Amy, nothing for you to worry about. Weren't you two asleep?"

Amy Pond was hardly paying attention, taking another look around the room. "Hang on, I've been in this bar just like this before, couple times. This is the same bar."

A second person came in through the side door, a man this time. He also appeared to be in nightclothes, judging by the pajama bottoms, but had had to presence of mind or self-consciousness to thrown on a jacket and shoes. He yawned as he approached them, asking, "Doctor why are we in a bar in London?"

Deciding to spare the alien the admission that he'd been spying, Jack leaned around his friend so the other two could see him fully. "Stopping by to have a chat with an old friend. Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced, flashing a smile and holding out his hand.

"Amy Pond," the redhead was the first to recover from her surprise, taking his hand. She rose an eyebrow and her lips quirked up in a smirk as he bent his head over it and kissed the back.

"Rory Williams." The man's hand was thrust into view faster than Jack could blink, likely a warning, but he merely took it and kissed it as well. "Uh- that—" The man blustered as his wife giggled.

"Alright, alright, that's quite enough, thank you Jack," the Doctor at last broke in, remarkably patient all things considered. "You two should be in bed, you've barely been asleep an hour."

"Woke up and noticed we'd landed," Rory shrugged.

"Thought maybe you'd skipped out on some adventure without us, and it turns out we were right," Amy finished, putting a hand to her hip. "Why didn't you say you were visiting a friend?"

"He doesn't like to introduce me to people," Jack answered before the Time Lord could come up with some excuse, "thinks I play _too_ nicely, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah?" She answered challengingly, taking the Doctor's vacated stool. Rory drew up right behind her protectively, and he had to respect that. But what really interested him was the way his friend also hovered rather close, to both humans.

In the past, the Doctor had given his basic "stop it" threat and a warning to whatever companion he happened to be with, like Martha or Donna. This was much more than that, and it gave his friend a whole new dimension; the family man. There were various sources in UNIT and Torchwood's databases claiming the Time Lord had in fact had family on Gallifrey, and now Jack had the opportunity to see a long-forgotten side to him resurface with his in-laws.

"I hadn't thought you met up with people in bars," Rory remarked, turning a curious gaze on the time traveler.

"Jack's a bit of an exception. Needed to ask him about something a while back, and it's sort of become a tradition."

"I've been just as surprised as you both," Jack told the Ponds, as the Doctor had called them. "But it's been kind of fun, just catching up with each other. Heard a lot about you, and your daughter."

"Oh you know about that?" Amy inquired.

"Wait, 'Captain Harkness'?" Rory suddenly asked sharply, and Jack nodded with a confused look. It appeared the other man had just remembered something, for he turned to the Doctor and asked, "He was the one we skipped, isn't he?"

"Hey, skipped when?" Jack questioned as well, turning a somewhat suspicious gaze on the Time Lord.

"Er, yes, this is him, Rory," the alien answered, and then sighed. "Oh, it was a while ago, Jack. Some bad things had happened and I needed some help from friends. Thought of calling you up, but I, ah, decided against it."

Jack raised an eyebrow and turned to the other two. Amy shook her head with a slight grin. "Don't you love it when he's all vague?" She asked rhetorically, and then elaborated before the Time Lord could retort, "When I was pregnant with Melody—River—I got kidnapped by these really, really bad people called the Silence. They wanted to take her away to raise as a weapon against the Doctor, since she was sort-of Time Lord like him."

He'd heard bits and pieces of this story from the alien himself, but to have it all spelled out plainly and by a woman who was obviously still hurting from the events tugged at his heartstrings. Jack would have offered himself in comfort had Rory not been there to place two steady hands on his wife's shoulders.

The man then swallowed and said, "When the Doctor and I realized Amy was gone, we started looking for her and found out where she and Melody were being held. So the Doctor realized we were going to need help, and he started contacting friends or acquaintances. And I remember, he was trying to pin-point a good date to come see you when he sent me to get River." Rory grimaced then, and Jack turned a questioning gaze on the Doctor.

"Well, she couldn't, of course," the Doctor took up the tale, "crossing her own time stream like that—but I didn't know then. I had no idea who she was, and yet I called on her for help. And when she refused, I- oh, I was furious, Jack. So, so angry, at her and at me for even _thinking_ of trusting her, even when I'd done everything she'd ever asked of me. I didn't know _who_ to trust anymore, and I suppose," he didn't quite meet his eyes as he continued, "in a way I felt angry even at you for making me think I could possibly have trusted River. So I decided I had enough people on my side, and I left you alone. Not my finest moment."

"Hey, it's alright," Jack acknowledged the unspoken apology. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be there."

"Ah, it wouldn't have made much difference. The whole thing was destined to fail, River's existence necessitated it; yes, we rescued Amy," the Time Lord and the redhead shared a brief smile before both looking more solemn, "but not Melody. The Silence took her. I lost, infallible as I am touted to be." The weary smile he wore was self-deprecatory at best.

"You lost? Look, I know I might not have the whole story, but from where I'm looking at it, you eventually tricked the Silence into thinking they'd won, you two got an amazingly strong and talented daughter from what I hear that you seem to at least know fairly well," he indicated the Ponds, who nodded agreeably, "and Doc- well, you got a super-hot wife. Not much to complain about."

The Doctor was demonstrating that rather unique ability to choke on air again, which the Ponds seemed fairly used to as Amy simply said, "I'll drink to that."

"Er, that- oh, alright," Rory sighed in acquiescence.

"Sounds good to me," Jack grinned, motioning the bartender over. "What're you having?"

By the time the married pair had ordered, the Doctor seemed to get his breathing under control. "Sometimes your reasoning astounds me, Captain."

"If that's the case, why'd you ask him for advice? You said you had to ask him about something a while ago," Amy remarked.

"He was freaking out cause he didn't know how to talk to girls, so I gave him some tips," jack answered flippantly, causing the redhead to laugh.

"That is not- I know how- Jack!" The Time Lord spluttered. "I was merely wanted to have a second, objective opinion on whether or not possibly returning River's affections would be a good idea."

Amy still laughed, however, "Oh, why was I not there for that?"

"You were a bit busy…honey-mooning," the Doctor flailed his hands a bit, as if to describe the word.

"Setting aside the fact that you could have just asked us after you picked us up," Rory stated after taking a sip of his newly arrived drink, "you're telling us that you decided to drop in on an old friend to ask if possibly flirting with a woman they didn't even know was a good idea?"

"Er, yes," the alien scratched at his cheek.

"And I told him to go for it," Jack added.

"That explains so much, actually," Rory said. "I mean, the time before that when we saw River, you barely flirted with her at all." Amy's eyes widened.

"Oh my God, yeah! And here I thought I'd just taught him to do that," the woman pouted in disappointment.

"Well, I'm sure the execution of it was modelled on your brilliant methods," he offered with a smile, and she seemed to accept this.

"Ohh, this is why I waited till you were asleep," the Time Lord grumbled to himself, but just loud enough to make sure they heard.

"If you wanted to make sure we didn't meet him, you should have waited till we went home," Rory pointed out.

"You guys don't stay on the TARDIS?" Jack asked curiously.

"Not all the time. We're like part-time travelers," Amy joked, taking a drink.

Jack did so as well, and then said, "That seems to be a pattern in your family. I've heard River does something like that."

"It's more like we're on-call for whenever she's jumping off a building," Rory clarified, then hastened to add, "I know, Doctor, you're not a taxi service."

"So you 'hear' a lot of things, Jack," Amy said. "But haven't you met River?"

Jack turned a pointed look on the Time Lord then, "No, I haven't—pretty sure I told you to bring her next time, Doc."

"Well, it's not like I knew- and anyway, I did bring these two, didn't I?"

"Yeah, ok, you're forgiven."

"You really should meet her, though," Amy interjected. "She'd love you."

"Great," Rory and the Doctor both muttered, though likely for different reasons.

Jack grinned. "I feel like I already love her. But all joking aside, I'd love to be introduced."

"Perhaps some other time," the alien stated. "After all, the Ponds here have some sleeping to do after that nightcap, and maybe next time they can actually get changed before leaving the TARDIS." Rory shifted a bit awkwardly and Amy glanced down at her attire in some surprise and only mild embarrassment, and Jack had to wonder how often an occurrence this was.

"Don't get dressed on my account," he couldn't help returning, with the expected result of Rory making another little shuffle, the Doctor tugging at his color and turning a lovely shade of pink, and Amy giving a wicked smile.

"Well," she stood with the grace of someone accustomed to making social calls in a nightie, "I think that's our cue to get going. Still got some places we want to go tomorrow, anyway. It was great meeting you."

"Right," Rory agreed after his wife shot a look over her shoulder.

Jack smiled, "Pleasure to get to know you both, as well. Bring the whole family along next time, will you, Doc?"

"Well, we'll see," was the noncommittal response. His friend reached in his jacket, likely to produce a ridiculous amount of bills to cover the Ponds' drinks, but Jack raised a hand.

"No need, I'll just put it on my tab." The alien had already paid for his expenses often enough. Amy and Rory both gave their thanks, and the Doctor smiled.

"Till the next time then, Jack." With that he led the other two back out through the side door, and Jack realized belatedly that the TARDIS must have been parked in the alley the whole time.

For his part, he was glad he'd gotten to meet the future version of Amy Pond, as opposed to the depressed woman he'd seen at the bar earlier this evening. He liked her and her husband non-divorced, and he was absolutely certain the Doctor liked them that way, too.

OoO

Amy hung back as Rory entered the police box first and fixed the Doctor with a look. "What?" The Time Lord queried.

"An objective opinion, you said," she repeated his earlier words, and he nodded hesitantly. "And I get that Rory and I were half-convinced you and River were already married—but how is _that_ an objective opinion?"

"Well I—"

"You _knew_ he'd tell you it was a good idea, Doctor," she stated. She expected him to stammer out some excuse or tell her to drop it or simply march into the TARDIS without answering.

But instead, he merely leaned against the frame and said, "Yes, I did. And it was my idea. But I needed to hear someone say it." Her eyes had gone a bit wide and he grinned softly. "Gotcha."

With a smile and a shake of her head, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the ship to join Rory.

**Yay, I finally got the Ponds in! I know people wanted to see them in this little series, and I was sitting there panicking because I'd already written past most of their episodes, but I figured it out. I hope that this makes you all happy, thanks for reading these oneshots so far, and please review!**


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